Comparing Steinbeck's 'Of Mice And Men'

Julia Goldberg
Mr. Aubry
Response Paper #1
11/11/14

In the book Mice of Men, Curly has a very high level of power, because he is the son of George and Lennie’s boss giving him higher power then the two. Also, Curly has the intimidation of coming off as tough because he used to be a lightweight fighter but, still likes to pick fights.
In the beginning of Mice and Men, we are introduced to Curly. Curly is the son of George and Lennie 's boss. This gives him a higher power then George and Lennie, almost as if he looking down on the two. In the book the old man says, "The old man looked cautiously at the door to make sure no one was listening. “That’s the boss’s son,” he said quietly. “Curley’s pretty handy. He done quite a bit in the ring. He’s a lightweight, and he’s handy.” (24). This is referring to Curly and how George and Lennie should watch out for him because of his past in the ring. Also in this quote, the old man is referring to how the bosses son is exactly like the boss. This is not a good sign for George and Lennie because

Curly thinks that he could have some fun with Lennie. So, the three of them start having a conversation. George starts explaining how he and Lennie had just come in for there jobs. Then Curly interrupts his and says, “Let the big guy talk.” Lennie then twisted with embarrassment. George said, “S’pose he don’t want to talk?” Curley lashed his body around. “By Christ, He’s gotta talk when he’s spoken to. What the hell are you gettin’ into it for?” (23). This further explains how he can also be an intimidation to George and Lennie. Also, this is an example that Curly likes to embarrass Lennie to get some fun out of being at the bunkhouse. This makes Lennie feel very uncomfortable not knowing what to say, and also knowing that George has nothing he can say or do to get him out of this embarrassing